In recent years, the judicialization of politics worldwide has expanded its scope to
encompass what we may term “mega-politics”—matters of outright and utmost political …

This paper presents an integrated overview of the literature linking institutions, financial
development, and economic growth. From the large body of research on institutional …

A few centuries ago, capitalism set in motion an explosion of economic productivity. Markets
and private property had existed for millennia, but what other key institutions fostered …

All societies must deal with the possibility of violence, and they do so in different ways. This
book integrates the problem of violence into a larger social science and historical …

In the last decade, economists have produced a considerable body of research suggesting
that the historical origin of a country's laws is highly correlated with a broad range of its legal …

Cities of Commerce develops a model of institutional change in European commerce based
on urban rivalry. Cities continuously competed with each other by adapting commercial …

An increasingly popular view holds that institutions--in particular, the rule of law--are the
keys to unlocking the developing world's full growth potential. But what exactly does this …

Classical Islamic law recognizes only natural persons; it does not grant standing to
corporations. This article explores why Islamic law did not develop a concept akin to the …

This article challenges the idea that the corporation is a globally superior form of business
organization and that the Anglo-American common-law is more conducive to economic …

We focus on the economies of the North Atlantic Core during the 19th and early 20th
centuries and find that an impressive variety of local financial institutions emerged to supply …